Why Did Pakistan Award 'Israel's Favorite US General' a Prestigious Medal?
Bestowing a medal on the very American general who has been so intimately involved in Israel’s holocaust of Gaza is beyond absurd.
As a Pakistani, I am used to politics as a theater of the absurd. But even a weary watcher such as myself was taken aback to see Pakistan bestowing a Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the national medal of excellence, on outgoing US CENTCOM chief General Michael Kurilla last month. The former chief, whose CENTCOM covered military operations in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central and South Asia, was lauded by the Pakistani government for his “visionary leadership” and “exemplary service.” They happened to leave out a few other details – “In case you don't know, he is Israel's favorite US general & the most pro-Israel general in the American military,” Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, Maleeha Lodhi, tweeted. Kurilla played what Israeli news site Ynet called a “central role” in bolstering American military coordination during Israel’s war on Gaza, and appears to have been instrumental in pushing for the US to take part in Israel’s aggression against Iran.
Bestowing a medal on the very American general who has been so intimately involved in Israel’s holocaust of Gaza is beyond macabre. Gaza is now the most bombed site in recent history. Israel has destroyed nearly all the trees and 92% of all homes in the Strip. The scale of Israel’s destruction of Gaza is higher than that in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Dresden, London during the Blitz, Syria, and Iraq.
Though relations between the two countries had soured in the post-“War on Terror” years – former President Joe Biden not only pointedly didn’t even talk to former Prime Minister Imran Khan over the phone, but Khan publicly accused the US of threatening him and orchestrating his removal from power – they have enjoyed an upswing in recent months.
Pakistani folklore has long held that Republican administrations are more friendly towards the country than Democrats, a belief that is garnering traction as we speak. In March, Pakistan’s overwhelmed and embattled government formed a Crypto Council and announced a crypto minister. A month later, the council signed a deal with a company in which the Trumps hold a majority stake, World Liberty Financial. In July, a trade deal was announced between the two countries that hinted at lower tariffs for Pakistan, estimated to be at 19% (India, Pakistan’s arch-nemesis, was walloped with 25% tariffs and threatened with another 25% on top if they didn’t stop buying Russian oil). President Donald Trump recently posted on social media that the US would soon be developing Pakistan’s “massive Oil Reserves” – pushing the knife in as deeply as possible by adding that one day, perhaps India would be buying Pakistani oil! This month, Marco Rubio announced what one can only imagine will be a wildly exploitative venture of US exploration of Pakistan’s critical minerals and hydrocarbon in Balochistan. The province is home to Reko Diq, considered to be one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world. It was a grim irony to make such an announcement on our Independence Day.
And who can forget – because he keeps reminding us – that it was Trump who brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan earlier this year. “I love Pakistan, I think Modi is a fantastic man…I stopped the war between India and Pakistan,” Trump declared in June on the day he hosted Pakistan’s chief of Army staff, Field Marshall Asim Munir, at the White House. A White House spokesperson said the unprecedented meeting – the first time a US president met the head of Pakistan’s military without the presence of Pakistani civilian politicians and leaders – was held after Munir called for Trump to be nominated for the Nobel Prize. In a florid statement just days after the meeting, the Pakistani government confirmed it would nominate Trump, recognizing his “decisive intervention and pivotal leadership” during India’s Operation Sindoor attacks on Pakistan and praised his “great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship.” (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, also nominated Trump for the pointless prize).
All this is especially bizarre considering that it was China who played a conclusive role in defending Pakistan’s sovereignty during the Indian attacks, not the US. The May 7 dogfight between India and Pakistan was the world’s largest aerial battle in decades; it was also the first time that China’s stealth fighter jets were used in combat “anywhere in the world,” and they performed spectacularly. Pakistan’s air force, using Chinese jets and missiles, claimed it shot down five Indian aircraft, including three French-made Rafales, described as the “jewel of India’s fleet.” If confirmed, it would have been the first time a Rafale fighter jet has been shot down in its history. India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, “firmly rejected” Pakistan’s claims but refused to say how many Indian planes were downed. “Numbers are not important,” Chauhan dodged when asked. China is apparently fast-tracking its next-generation J-35A stealth fighters to Pakistan, which is the first known country that the jets will be exported to. It would have made more sense for a medal of national honor to go to China in this context rather than an American general.
Pakistan ought to have good relations with the US; it is certainly to Pakistan’s benefit economically. But to give a medal of excellence to a general so closely involved in this horror in Gaza is criminal. Such a move could only have come at the hands of the putrid elite who have long captured Pakistani politics. There is no longer any pretence of this elite serving the people. Up to 44% of school-age children in Pakistan are not in school, and the World Bank estimates that nearly 45% of Pakistan’s entire population lives below the poverty line. This is not politics as usual; it is a matter of national shame. Flash floods have killed more than 785 people and caused horrific devastation across the country since the monsoon season started in late June. Why was no serious planning undertaken before the monsoon season? Why has Pakistan, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, not managed to bolster its disaster planning, flood management, and disaster relief capabilities?
Meanwhile, a troubling military operation is underway in Bajaur, in Pakistan’s tribal district, with many locals being internally displaced. We are told this is to sweep the area of terrorists, but the recent announcement of the US interest in our critical minerals leaves many uneasy at the timing. Busy handing medals to genocidaires, Pakistan’s ruling politicians issued neither apologies nor announced corrective measures to the people whose futures they have decimated through incompetence, grift, and lack of governance. This shameless elite has run far beyond its course, to Pakistan’s detriment. But high noon is fast approaching, the people – already disgruntled – have had enough of such flagrantly parasitic politics.
Fatima Bhutto is an award-winning author and journalist. Her upcoming books include the memoir, The Hour of the Wolf, and a collection of essays she co-edited titled Gaza: The Story of a Genocide.
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The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Zeteo.
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Fatima, enjoyed reading your piece on Pakistan. I am a huge long time fan of yours. Pleased to see you on Zeto.
Reason: Pakistani military generals are all CIA paid agents and trained by the Americans, who then back them for all the dirty work Americans want them to do in the region.
Saudi Arabia wants Pakistan to recognise Israel as MBS himself is Zionist Jew and has been on Epstein's list. And mostly likely compromised by sex with children and is blackmailed by MOSSAD who has all on videos.